ALBANY - An office supply vendor pleaded guilty Tuesday to theft by deception in billing the Procter & Gamble Co. $97,000 for goods it did not receive. <br>
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Samuel A. Cross of Riverdale agreed to testify against former P&G employee Timothy Davis, 37, of Dawson, according to court records. <br>
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Cross, 54, will be sentenced later by Superior Court Judge Loring Gray. <br>
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Prosecutor Greg Edwards told Gray that Cross sold the Albany P&G plant a foam product used to store office tools. He submitted fraudulent purchase orders between November 1999 and April 2000, which the company paid. <br>
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Defense lawyer Mark Pickett of Albany said Cross was a reputable industrial supply vendor before becoming involved in the fraud scheme. Cross was hit hard by the loss of contracts in U.S. Department of Defense cutbacks, Pickett said. <br>
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Cross is willing to pay his share of restitution, about $40,000, Pickett said.
